Writings

There’s a beauty and grace to Li-Young Lee’s writing that touches something deep inside of me. When I read “The Gift”, my inner child cries out in longing for something he never experienced.

Time has been different since March 2020. Up on a white board in my office, I have started keeping a list of names of people that through the years I’ve often thought, “I should get in touch with her or him or them.” All of the names are listed under John Lewis’ name. You see, two years ago I wrote his name on this white board to remind me to write to him.

I glanced out the window and noticed Peanut trying to get the attention of a passerby. It often seems like he expects a tasty treat from anyone that has the privilege of walking near him. I smiled as I thought, “I have something in common with a goat!”

Visitation happens through a glass and over a telephone, which has very low volume and lots of static, making it even more difficult to hear and understand each other. These men have not committed a crime. They are in prison because they are undocumented.

It isn’t enough for us to say that we abhor war, we must train in peace daily if we wish to see an end to what Bobby Kennedy called “the mindless menace of violence.”